Afghanistan’s one real opportunity to come back from its Middle Age existence
Afghanistan has been in the news with the US officials saying that Mineral Despots worth more than a Trillion Dollars lie untapped in the country.This “Find” according to officials has the potential to transform the country into the “Saudi Arabia” of minerals as voracious demand from India and China drive up resource demand.However exploiting this opportunity remains a far off dream for the war ravaged Afghanistan with a non-existential industrial base.Besides problems of governance there is no transport infrastructure as well.It will take a huge amount of effort and time for Afghanistan to realize its mineral potential even as it remains torn apart by ethnic rivalries and Taliban Terrorism.However it is the only one golden opportunity for Afghanistan to move into the 21st century from its current Middle Age society.The government perhaps realizing this has invited foreign technology and capital to help develop its mineral riches.
Afghanistan seeks bids to tap huge mineral wealth – Google
Afghanistan is to seek bids from global mining groups to extract the war-torn country’s near one trillion dollars of mineral wealth, its mines minister said.Wahidullah Shahrani said the country would organise a roadshow to promote opportunities for foreign investors on June 25 in London.”We will invite bids for the development of our mineral deposits in the next few months,” he said after a meeting with his Indian counterpart B.K. Handique in New Delhi Tuesday, according to Dow Jones Newswires.A number of Indian companies and global miners have already shown interest in Afghanistan’s deposits, the minister said.”To start with, we will invite bids for iron ore and copper mines,” Shahrani added.
Mongolia seeks to build an Industrial Complex around its Mineral Resources
Land locked Mongolia encircled by Russia and China,is also looking towards foreign investment to help develop a $10 Billion Industrial Complex around its coal and copper deposits.Unlike Afghanistan,Mongolia has developed its mineral deposits of coal and copper to some extent.Rio Tinto is one of the major investors in this country and 65% of Mongolia’s GDP is generated from mineral and mining activities.The government now wants to value-add its activities by developing a copper smelter and chemical coking facilities to further boost its GDP.It is looking to develop transport infrastructure to connect do Demand Centres in China .Mongolia has ambitious plans of boosting GDP growth by 14% pa for the next 5 years and foreign capital is crucial for achieving this goal.
Mongolia Seeks Investors in $10 Billion Mine Building – Bloomberg
Mongolia is seeking investors for a $10 billion desert industrial complex that will meet rising Asian demand for coal and copper from some of the world’s largest untapped mineral resources.A copper smelter, oil refinery, power plants and chemical coking facilities are planned at Sainshand in the Gobi desert to do value-added processing for the Tavan Tolgoi coking coal deposit and Oyu Tolgoi copper mine, said Ganbat Chuluunkhuu, a government adviser and former Wall Street financier with Commerzbank AG.The Mongolian government wants investors to fund as much as 40 percent of the project that will build 1,000-kilometers (650 miles) of railroads through south Gobi and eastern Mongolia, connecting Tavan Tolgoi to China and Russia, Chuluunkhuu said in an interview in the capital city Ulan Bator.
Summary
The growth of China and India as major players in the global economy has improved the prospects of resource rich countries around the world.Developed countries like Canada and Australia to developing countries like Brazil have all benefited from the voracious resource demand emanating from these countries.Now Afghanistan and Mongolia too seek to capitalize on the growth of China and India.
